I am – Hercules!!

“Life” is a crime drama, from writer-producer Rand Ravich (“The Astronaut’s Wife”), about LAPD detective Charlie Crews (Britisher Damian Lewis, “Dreamcatcher”), who spent 11 years in prison for three murders he didn’t commit. He discovered zen. He was proven innocent, set free and given millions in settlement money. Now he’s back on the force solving crime and trying to figure out who framed him.

Sarah Shahi, the hot little Iranian/Spaniard from Euless, Texas, who played the Latina lesbian on “L Word,” assays Crews’ partner. Brooke Langdon is hot also as Crews’ lawyer. Adan Arkin is less hot as Crews’ fellow ex-con, financial advisor and tenant.

The last and least of NBC’s four new fall shows, “Life” is too much like too many other NBC/Universal procedurals to take seriously. It’s also on during “South Park,” “The Sarah Silverman Program” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” so it’s doubtful I’ll ever see another episode.

USA Today gives it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… Strip away the abrasive flourishes, and what's left is a standard-issue TV mystery with cases that are too easy to solve and internal conflicts and conspiracies that make no sense. …

The New York Times says:

… The narrative structure of the show is incredibly satisfying: During each hour a crime is committed and solved, as Charlie’s search for who might have framed him provides the overriding arch, satisfying our short attention spans and taste for long-form narrative at once. Tonally, though, “Life” feels as a musical version of a Thomas Harris novel might.

The Los Angeles Times says:

… NBC's new drama "Life" is the sort of show that makes a person want to write things that will be picked up for ad copy. Like: "If you only watch one new show this fall, watch 'Life.' " Or: "Terrific cast, terrific writing, and even when simply eating a pear, Damian Lewis sets a whole new standard for the broken hero genre." Not for the ad, but because they're true. And since "Life" has gotten zero buzz, there's a chance it will have a hard time finding an audience. Which would be terrible, since it promises to be such a great show. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… basically takes the "Law" part of the "Law & Order" format and slathers on a high-gloss coating of Zen musings. Speaking of that NBC procedural standby, "Life" recalls a mid-period "Law & Order" episode -- mildly satisfying, but pretty formulaic. …

The Washington Post says:

… a hard-to-swallow pill about a wrongly convicted cop … the show hasn't even started yet and we're yawning already. …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… Just dreadful enough to want to shoot yourself …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… pretty lifeless … In tonight's premiere, Crews is a quirky character who's borderline annoying. His tweaky nature gets toned down by the second episode that features a pretty routine murder case that's as obvious as it is unimaginative. … "Life," created by screenwriter Rand Ravich ("The Astronaut's Wife"), wants to be a character study of what prison does to the wrongfully accused, but it gets bogged down by so many procedural elements that all the character moments get squished and forced out around the edges, resulting in an uninteresting blob of an overly familiar TV show.

The Milwuakee Journal-Sentinel says:

… "Life" just doesn't add up. The British Lewis, who was superb in PBS' "The Forsyte Saga" and HBO's "Band of Brothers," is especially disappointing - but bringing this series to life is probably more than even an actor of his skills could manage.…

The Mimai Herald says:

… In a bombastic season full of vampires and demons and corpse-curers, Life is an oddity, an anti-hero cop show that features neither car chases nor geek ex machina superscience. It depends almost entirely on the interplay between its two seriously damaged lead characters -- and Lewis and Sarah Shahi (The L Word), who plays Dani, make it work. The continuing collision between his prison-bred eccentricities and her impatient ambition is often hilarious and always captivating. …

The Boston Herald says:

… “Life” isn’t a bad show. As a procedural, it’s not taxing. It’s more about the personal journey, or as Charlie would say, of being in the moment with these characters. It just seems a poor fit for a major commercial network.

The Boston Globe says:

… why do I fear that, despite all its pluses, this show is not long for the world? For one thing, as good as Lewis is, Charlie may be too strange for mainstream consumption. He's a hard character to understand, although I am certain that, ultimately, he is understandable. And then with the TV lineups so dense with cop shows, "Life" may not have a flashy enough gimmick to attract viewers in the first place. …

Variety says:

… a gritty, off-the-wall drama that dabbles in the deep and the deadpan … thoroughly watchable …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… a charismatic and quirky central character who is both unpredictable and impossible to pigeonhole. Given a chance to develop, Detective Charlie Crews could someday take a place with the likes of Kojak, Columbo and Monk. …

10 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.

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